


A Song for the Broken Hearted

by Lockea



Series: Thistle and Thorn [2]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, Kratos is a Good Dad, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lockea/pseuds/Lockea
Summary: "My dad used to tell me when I was young that before she died my sire told him that my dame was going to come back for me. I always imagined it happening like a kids story. My dame would come and settle down with us in Dad's house and I'd have three parents. But they never came. Eventually, I thought my dame didn't want me. And, honestly, I wouldn't blame them if they didn't. Maybe they were like you. Maybe they didn't want to be an omega or have a kid."In Palmacosta, Lloyd and Kratos talk about parents, expectations, and pride. Set in the same universe as Thistle and Thorn.





	A Song for the Broken Hearted

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Lily of Lilies for leaving such a nice comment for me. I wrote this in December and have basically sat on top of it ever since, but her comment made me feel like sharing it. Thank you darling!
> 
> Warnings for the very brief but still present one line comment about marital rape and miscarriage. Also, spoilers for later chapters of Thistle and Thorn.
> 
> Alpha!Anna and Omega!Kratos makes me cackle, too.

Lloyd couldn’t sleep. The Palmacosta waters beckoned to him, the once lively port quietly settling down under the moonlight. It wasn’t so unusual, what with everything going on lately, but the stress was getting to the young alpha. His need to protect the group seemed to rub everyone the wrong way, but in the wake of the attempted assassination just a few days prior, Lloyd’s alpha instincts were in overdrive. As the sole alpha in a group containing two omegas – even if one of them was terrifyingly competent – Lloyd couldn’t help the instincts that drove him towards hyper aggressiveness. After Raine had snapped at him to take a walk before she smacked him, Lloyd had taken the hint and headed for the docks where he lingered even long after everyone else had gone to sleep.

It figured that Kratos would be the one to find him. The omega mercenary seemed to have a sensor in his head that pointed him straight towards Lloyd. As Kratos took a seat beside Lloyd on some crates overlooking the water, Lloyd refused to meet the mercenary’s eyes. “What do you want?” He mumbled, not in the mood for another of Kratos’s lectures.

“Nothing much.” Kratos answered smoothly. “To talk, I suppose. You seem on edge and it didn’t quite seem fair for Raine and Genis to snap at you. As elves, they’ll never understand the dynamic of humans and our instincts.”

Lloyd’s bark of laughter was sharp and bitter. “And you do? I always thought omegas were quiet and gentle and docile. You’re like an alpha trapped in an omega’s body.”

“A sentiment that many share, I assure you, and is far, far older than you are.” Kratos said, but his tone wasn’t amused. Not cold either, but almost disappointed. “Would it surprise you to know that when I was your age I was the perfect example of an omega?”

Lloyd tried to picture it and failed. He glanced surreptitiously at Kratos and tried to picture the omega with a personality even slightly resembling Colette’s. Colette was a perfect omega, the shy and sweet and gentle nurturing type. Kratos was cold and competent and terrifying with his sword.

“Yeah right.” Lloyd groused. “Try again tomorrow.”

A small smile quirked on Kratos’s lips. “I’m not joking.” He said. “Where I come from, unmarried omega children never revealed their faces in public so I grew up very shy and secluded. My sire arranged my marriage to a man twice my age whose wives passed away of mysterious illness or childbirth shortly after each marriage. Every omega from all the nearby villages knew he was abusive and that was why his wives passed away so young, but alphas ignored the signs. When I confronted my father about the wedding, he accused me of slandering a good man’s name and said I had no choice in the matter.”

Kratos paused in telling the story, and Lloyd glanced at him, unsure of what to make of the tale. He didn’t have to ask, because Kratos did finish the story shortly thereafter. “My wedding night was… painful… to say the least. I tried to beg my sire to take me back into his household, but the marriage had already been consummated. By law I belonged to my husband. As an omega, I knew I was supposed to accept my place in life with graciousness and a spirit of servility, but I was sixteen and scared. When my husband came for me two nights later, I stabbed him with a knife from the kitchens. I decided then and there that I was never going to act like an omega ever again.”

“Kratos…” Lloyd began, at a loss for words.

Kratos held up his hand to silence Lloyd. “Don’t apologize, Lloyd. It was a very long time ago. But even though the world is changing, there are still eyebrows raised whenever people realize that the mercenary in their midst is an omega. That said, it’d be a grave mistake to assume that none of my omega instincts remain. When alphas are upset, even young alphas like yourself, it’s instinct to want to placate them.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes and glanced towards the water. “I see. You’re just here because it’s instinct to you?”

“No.” Kratos said. “I’m here because you are upset, and as my student I would speak with you, if that is what you desired or,” He shrugged, “we can spar.”

“I don’t know.” Lloyd admitted. “I don’t even know why but I was thinking about the assassin from the other day and then suddenly I was thinking about my parents.”

“Your parents?” Kratos prompted.

Lloyd nodded. “Yeah. I know barely anything about them, you know? My Dad told me that he found my sire and I in the woods in the aftermath of a battle between them and the Desians. You know, I don’t know anything about either of them? Just vague memories. Like I think my dame had red hair and my sire – she gave me her exesphere. It’s the only memento of her I have. Sometimes, when I was really little, I thought the exesphere was speaking to me, but that couldn’t have been right because the voice I heard always called me a boy, as if I was a dwarf or an elf. But I asked Dad – he always called me a boy too, said humans had clumsy names for their children, and said boys and baby alphas were basically the same thing – anyway, Dad said I was human through and through. If there was any elf in me, it wasn’t enough to suppress the alpha/omega dichotomy. Whatever that is.”

Kratos fought the urge to groan, the expression on his open face almost comical. “Lloyd.” He sighed. “How do you not know what the sexual dichotomy of humans is?” Then he thought better of it because he added, “Nevermind, don’t answer. I don’t want to know.”

Lloyd grinned sheepishly. “Hey now, I’m not that bad.”

Kratos didn’t reply.

“Anyway,” Lloyd continued. “I was thinking. My dad used to tell me when I was young that before she died my sire told him that my dame was going to come back for me. I always imagined it happening like a kids story. My dame would come and settle down with us in Dad's house and I'd have three parents. But they never came. Eventually, I thought my dame didn't want me. And, honestly, I wouldn't blame them if they didn't. Maybe they were like you. Maybe they didn't want to be an omega or have a kid."

"No." Kratos said suddenly. "No. Lloyd, even if they didn't want to be an omega, I am sure the moment you were born your dame loved you."

"That's nice of you to say, Kratos." Lloyd replied. "But I'm done assuming things based on what I expect of people. That assassin was an omega too, and yet she was so strong, so driven. And there's you, and you hate children and the world's full of alphas who are kind and nurturing and omegas who are brave and strong."

"I don't hate children." Kratos corrected Lloyd.

"Really?" Lloyd glanced over at his mentor, shocked. "But you always leave the room when children enter. If they get loud when playing or by crying you get this look on your face like you're in pain, and..."

"I don't hate children." Kratos repeated, interrupting Lloyd. "I hate the expectations placed on omegas when it comes to children. When I was your age there was nothing in life I desired more than to be a dame one day, but even though I did fall pregnant after my wedding night the child didn't make it. I was devastated. At first, I couldn't bear to be around children because of what I'd lost but as time went by and I began to take jobs as a mercenary, I realized that my clients felt uncomfortable allowing young children in my presence. I was such an aberration to them that they feared my influence on their children. As for the discomfort when children scream -- I don't know if you know this but omegas have a different hearing range than alphas. We're attuned particularly to high pitched noises such as what children make when distressed. All omegas hate the sound, but most will rush to the aid of the child to soothe it. I prefer to get away from the noise as fast as possible."

Lloyd didn't reply immediately, shocked. Then it dawned on him and he tilted his head back, laughing. "Oh boy, don't tell me the great Kratos Aurion's one weakness in life is screaming children?"

Unimpressed, Kratos replied. "It's every omega's weakness." Nonetheless, he let Lloyd's laughter die down on its own before saying, "It is true that we are all much more than the sum of our parts -- yourself included -- but that means everyone has motives for what they do. Your dame... they may have loved you very deeply but couldn't come back to you because it wasn't safe. Maybe they felt you were safer with Dirk." He reached out and took Lloyd's hand -- the one with the exesphere -- and raised it up. The moonlight shined off the gem embedded in Lloyd's hand. "Your sire was on the run from the desians. Likely your dame was as well. At least, by leaving you, they could keep you safe."

Lloyd nodded. "None of that makes it any easier to grow up wishing for someone to come for me. My dame -- they never did. So I told myself all these awful stories about how it was because I was a bad child or terrible in school. I trained hard as a swordsman because I wanted to go find them and show them how much I'd grown as a person so that maybe they'd love me and be proud of me."

"Lloyd." Kratos's voice was the softest Lloyd had ever heard it. "You don't need to earn the love of your parents. It's unconditional. Pride on the other hand..." He trailed off meaningfully. Lloyd managed a small smile. "Know this, Lloyd, I'm sure they would be very proud of who you've grown up to become, even if they might wish you were more studious at times."

Lloyd flung himself at Kratos, wrapping the omega in a tight hug. Startled, Kratos didn't react, except to gingerly wrap his arm around Lloyd in return. "Thanks Kratos."

"You are welcome, Lloyd." They sat like that for a few moments more before Lloyd pulled away, less upset and on edge than before. "Now, let's get back to the inn."

They made their way through Palmacosta's quiet evening streets heading towards the inn. As they approached, Lloyd glanced over at Kratos and said. "Oh, and don't worry Kratos. Your secret is safe with me."

"What secret?" Kratos asked.

"That for all you act so tough all the time. Deep down you're a big softie."

Kratos sighed. "Careful, child, or I'll make you pay for that comment in training tomorrow."

Lloyd just smiled. 


End file.
